Since starting his musical career in 1967 by founding and fronting Roomful of Blues, Duke Robillard has been at the forefront of Blues, Swing and classic R&B/Jump blues for over 40 years earning him his legendary status while influencing and inspiring countless legions of musicians and fans worldwide.
He has been nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for traditional blues album of the year in 2007/2010 and named Blues Music Awards Traditional male Blues Artist of the Year in 2010.
He has won the Blues Music Award for guitarist of the year 5 times, being the second most honored for that award and has garnered no less than 21 BMA nominations in various categories since 1989.
He was honored with a Blues Foundation “Keeping the Blues Alive” award for producer of the year in 2004. Besides winning numerous international awards from France and Canada, Duke received the prestigious Rhode Island Pell Award for “Excellence in the Arts” in 2007.
Leading his own group Duke has toured non-stop for the past 30 some years recording more than 20 critically acclaimed CDs under his own name. He has toured as guitarist with Tom Waits and the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Recorded with the likes of Bob Dylan, Ruth Brown, Jay McShann, Pinetop Perkins, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Witherspoon , Rosco Gordon, Maria Muldaur and many, more.
Duke and his band were nominated for band of the year in 2010
Duke was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in May of 2014.
Duke’s new CD for Stony Plain Records in 2015, titled “The Acoustic Blues and Roots of Duke Robillard”, is the “Acoustic Blues Album of the Year” for the 2016 Blues Music Awards and #45 of the 50 best blues albums of 2015 by Living Blues Magazine.
Stony Plain Records announces a September 9, 2016 release date for Duke’s new CD “Blues Full Circle”. Special guests on the new album include the legendary Jimmie Vaughan, Sugar Ray Norcia and Kelley Hunt.